Archive for October 12th, 2007

U.S. labor leaders have written a biting letter to Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, voicing concerns that the government is collecting labor union data on airline passengers flying to the United States from Europe to determine whether they pose a terrorism risk.

As part of an agreement reached in July between the United States and European Union, airlines are required to provide personal data on millions of U.S.-bound passengers, such as names and credit card information. European negotiators won restrictions on the use of such sensitive information as religion, sexual orientation and union membership.

But the Passenger Name Record Agreement states that that data can be used in exceptional cases, “where the life of a data subject or of others could be imperiled or seriously impaired,” such as in a counterterrorism investigation.

“We agree with the department’s objective to identify those representing a genuine threat, but we categorically reject the notion that union membership has any bearing on this determination,” AFL-CIO President John J. Sweeney and Edward Wytkind, president of the AFL-CIO’s Transportation Trades Department, wrote in a letter dated yesterday. “Even the suggestion that union membership is somehow indicative of a threat to security is offensive to the millions of workers we are proud to represent.”

Umm, I also have to ask: Are there a lot of gay terrorists? And what about gay union members? Should they even be allowed to travel?

In all seriousness, I agree with Bowers that it doesn’t really make that much sense for Algore to use this is a springboard for a presidential campaign, just as it would have been tacky for him to announce it as part of his Oscar acceptance speech. He’s either going to run or he isn’t (probably the latter), but it’s not going to be conditional on any awards he might win.

Also, I’m going to go out on a limb and guess that no-one has ever won an Oscar and a Nobel Prize (Peace or otherwise) in the same year. Or possibly at all. You go, Al!